Lt. Governor Hints at Future Plans and Talks of Skinning Chickens

DES MOINES, Iowa – Apparently, U.S. Senate candidate Joni Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, isn’t the only Iowa elected official with hands-on experiences on the farm with barnyard animals. Last April, Ernst broke away from a five-person primary field following her campaign ad where she talked about her experiences castrating hogs on the family farm.

Monday, Governor Terry Branstad said he,too, took part in castrations while growing up, although more as an assistant. The governor said, “I held the hogs while the veterinarian, Jerry Jorgenson, castrated them.”

Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds, a close friend of Ernst, also spent time on the family farm. “I have not,” she said when asked if she had castrated hogs. But she added, “After seeing the recognition and the name i.d. that you can get (from Ernst’s campaign ad), I said I might have to think about it in the next four years.”

That might be the first time Reynolds has spoken publicly about running for governor in 2018.

Reynolds also added, “I didn’t castrate hogs. But I do know how to skin a chicken and I can do that pretty well.”